Tooth and Claw

So, this artwork debuted on the 40k facebook page at the weekend, followed by an extremely exciting article that talked about the next “battle box” coming for 40k, Tooth and Claw. Genestealer Cults vs Space Wolves, in bloody battle for the planet Vigilus. Similar to Forgebane from earlier in the year, we’re getting a lot of repackaged models, along with a couple of new bits – this time, we’re heavily weighted to the Genestealer Cults, with the new Aberrant multi-part plastic kit, as well as an Aberrant character, and just one new Space Wolf.

It’s an interesting way to do these kinds of releases, though I have to say I’m a little bit sad that we aren’t just getting the new kits themselves. I do appreciate the fact that we’re having the story advance and whatnot, and ordinarily I love these kinds of narrative-driven boxes, things have changed for me in that I can’t go throwing my money at all the new releases anymore. I’m guessing we’ll see things released separately in time, but that new Cryptek from Forgebane still hasn’t made his clam-pack appearance yet, has he? Hm.

At £90, though, the box is an absolute steal. Assuming the Primaris stuff is not the easy-build kits, the existing models total £148 (though you can’t get the Intercessor combat squad online anymore, so it’s a little bit weird in that regard…) which is just nuts when you think the Aberrants are likely to be around £30 at least, the Abominant will probably be £18, and the Space Puppy around £15… That’s nuts!

Having a Genestealer Cults army already on the go, this box will be a blessing – I’ve been wanting to get some more Metamorphs for a while, and nearly bought some on Friday when I was in the store, so that’s kinda negated now. I already have the Acolyte Iconward, but I’m sure I can either have another or just sell him on. I absolutely love how over-the-top ridiculous the Abominant looks, so can’t wait to add him to the force, as well as having more options for the Aberrants – I think this might finally tip me over the edge into including them in my lists…

It’s the Primaris stuff that’s kinda bothering me, as I’ve recently built a kill-team and decided that I might actually like to have an army of these chaps. I’ll definitely keep the Redemptor, because I’ve been holding off getting one of those for a very long time already. I already have Aggressors, so will probably get rid of those, and will definitely be off-loading the lieutenant chappie as I don’t collect Space Wolves. The Intercessors though… Maybe I’ll keep them, to bulk out the guys from Dark Imperium and the like. I suppose we’ll see.

At any rate, the story sounds like it’s going to be a significant addition to 40k lore, so I’m looking forward to reading up on the developments – indeed, I think 8th edition has done wonders for setting up a more interesting and cohesive narrative for the lore, no matter what people might think of the Primaris stuff. Personally, I like the look of them, so don’t mind it at all, but I know some people are a bit unimpressed, so may not think the same. I’m definitely enjoying the fact that GW are just making efforts with the storyline this time, rather than what seemed to be the case in 7th edition when I jumped on with 40k.

Also, interestingly, there seems to be mention of Orks on the planet, who like to race in the deserts. Gorkamorka it may not be, but I’ve recently been seeing what looks like the next small-box game coming out:

5 thoughts on “Tooth and Claw”

I’d say so, yes! I don’t know how well-balanced the armies are to each other, although it looks like there are more Genestealer Cultists than Space Wolves, the Cultists want to be in melee combat while the Wolves all have good shooting attacks, so the Cultists may never get into melee. So it might lead to very one-sided battles if you pitch the armies against each other from the box. However, the previous battle box they did, Forgebane, is still around (from what I gather) and features Necrons vs Adeptus Mechanicus, two very shooting-based armies, so that could be a much better investment (though the Necrons have two close combat-orientated units in that box, as it happens).

All of that said, if you were to play some very small-scale games (small scale in terms of table size), the Cultists might be able to make it across the board – they’d be pretty evenly-matched against the Marines, as I believe their stats for close combat are quite close (strength 4 against toughness 4) so combined with the higher model count should mean you’d have a decent enough game that would see the main phases of the game and so could get to grips with it.

8th edition is a whole lot more straightforward than it has been previously, so it’s definitely the right time to jump on board if the game interests you. I’m not too sure about the Marines side, as I’ve not yet looked closely into them, but I’d say the Cultist side is a very nice start to a Cult army, and with the Codexes for each coming out (hopefully) soon, you’d have the beginnings of a good army in time for their book!

This is a very rambling answer, sorry! Let me know if you’ve got any more questions though, always happy to help 🙂

Forgebane was also came out with 8th edition rules right? I am very interested in rather paying for a set to get to know the rules and stuff so i could maybe expand later… otherwise i just save the money and keep on buying books…🙈

Yeah, Forgebane has 8th Edition rules – they’re only a pamphlet, I think it’s 8 pages in total – if you want the full core rulebook, the Dark Imperium starter set has got the hardback rules free inside, with some really nice Death Guard models and the new Primaris marines. They’re all mono-pose though, and if you’re not interested in space marines, it might not be the best buy. Forgebane comes with Necrons though, and they were my first army – they even have the Lychguard kit in there, which is quite possibly my favourite kit in the entire range, because those models look amazing. Necrons aren’t too bad an army to learn – mostly shoot stuff, though Lychguard and Wraiths (also in the box) want to get into melee combat.

But if you’re looking to expand out, the core army you’d need isn’t too expensive – just another box or two of Immortals for troops (they look much better than the basic troops, the Warriors), and another HQ choice (you can get an Overlord in plastic or a more dynamic one in resin) and you’re set, really!

Necrons also have the dubious plus of being expensive models to field, points-wise, so you don’t really need to buy a lot of them. I’ve been trying to come up with a 2000 point list of late, and that equates to about 10-12 units in total, which isn’t a great deal when it comes to this game…

Anyway, I could go on about Necrons all day, as they’re awesome, but I think you’d likely be set if you bought Forgebane. Even if you don’t go for the Necrons side of things, the Mechanicus models in there are also beautiful (the box comes with two mini-Knights, which are half the price of the box alone if you bought them separately, so you could always sell them off and make some money back!)

Thank you for the tips mate appreciate it. I will be looking into forgebane most def… dark imperium also peaks my interest. I have not learned about primaris marines tho. (Only 1 book into herecy at the moment…)